UAE to hold three camps ahead of crunch World Cup qualifiers

Dubai - The Whites, who host Malaysia in their first match on resumption on October 8, will first assemble on July 22

The UAE football team will restart their preparations following the Covid-19 pandemic with three camps in the run-up to the resumption of their World Cup qualifying campaign in October and November.
The Whites, who lie fourth in Group G, are at a crucial juncture in the qualifiers, which also acts as a qualification for the AFC Asian Cup to be held in China in 2023.
New coach Jorge Luis Pinto will put his new wards through the paces across three camps across July, August and September.
The UAE, who host Malaysia in their first match on resumption on October 8, will first assemble on July 22 where they will undergo medicals as well as physical fitness. The camp, to be held at home, will run until July 27.
The squad will be announced over the next few days.
The Whites will then link up again for the second camp to be held overseas from August 1 to 23. The squad are scheduled to play two friendly matches during the camp. The venue for the camp as well as the opponents for the friendlies will be announced in due course.
The third and final camp will be held at home from August 31 to September 9 with the team set to play two friendlies during Fifa days.
The UAE Football Association's (UAEFA) Team and Technical Affairs committee, headed by Yousef Hussain Al-Sahlawi, the vice president of the FA, Saif Majid Al Mansoori, member of the board of directors and also the deputy chairman of the committee and Ibrahim Al Nimer assistant secretary general for technical affairs met over video conferencing and finalised the schedule following coordination with Pinto.
After playing the return leg against Malaysia at home, the UAE travel to Indonesia for the away leg against The Garuda, on October 13.
The Whites are at home to Thailand and Vietnam for the return legs on November 12 and 17. 
It is a critical time for the UAE and victory in all four of their remaining fixtures is paramount if they are to make it to the next round of the qualifiers.
The UAE have two wins and two defeats from four matches. They had begun their campaign with a 2-1 victory away against Malaysia and followed that up by swamping Indonesia 5-0 at the Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai.
But they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Thailand and a solitary goal loss to Vietnam.
james@khaleejtimes.com